People preparing to board a train at a railway station in Nanjing, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, on Friday, ahead of the Lunar New Year. - AFP PICASPIRING physical education teacher Gao Yemiao missed his 30-second window to buy a train ticket home for China's biggest holiday — but he was lucky. "I got put on the waiting list and managed to snag a ticket," the 19-year-old said on Friday at the train station in Baoding, in northern Hebei province. Though the public holiday spans a record nine days this year, Gao said he would not be going out to travel with family. Hua, like others interviewed at the Baoding station, had no travel plans beyond returning home.

Source: New Strait Times February 14, 2026 15:18 UTC